Hate Mates (The Alpha Shifter)

“Whatever,” Landon said. “A burger, fries, extra fries, onion rings, and skip the salad, I don’t want it.”

Alexa wrote his order, then took each of their orders.

Ben tried to touch her leg, and she slapped his hand away. She must have hurt him because he had to hide his wince. She spun on her heel and placed the order with the chef.

Even in a busy diner, she could hear them.

“Can you believe how rude she is?” Cheryl asked. “I was being nice.”

“You were calling her fat, Cheryl.” This came from Ben.

“She is fat. She’s the only woman here that is … you know … huge.”

“There is nothing wrong with her,” Drew said. “I know what I would do with her. Those tits, man.”

She rolled her eyes, but at the sudden yelp, she spun around and saw Drew holding his face. Blood was seeping out of his nose.

After grabbing a towel, she rushed toward the table, held the back of his head, and placed a towel on his face. “This will help the bleeding.”

She looked toward the human family whose gazes were wide. Offering them a smile, she leaned down toward Drew’s ear. “We have a human family in. Try to act naturally right now.”

“Shit, guys. I’m sorry,” Drew said, getting to his feet. “I better go take care of this.”

Ignoring the table, Alexa went to the human table. The little girl looked a little panicked. “Is everything okay?” Alexa asked.

“That young man…” the woman said, pointing in the direction of the bathroom.

“Oh, you mean, Drew. He has these things with nosebleeds. It happens all the time. It’s why I kept a towel free.” She chuckled. “He is fine, honestly. I hope you guys enjoy your meal.”

Stepping back to the other table, she laughed as she put a hand on Landon’s shoulder, ignoring the hit of electricity that seemed to travel through her body.

“I don’t know what the hell happened, but we have humans here enjoying their food. Let’s keep the wolf shit to a minimum, okay?” She gave Landon’s shoulder a squeeze, not hurting him, but attempting to look friendly to others.

As she went to leave, Landon grabbed her wrist.

There was that heat, the energy, the sudden jolt of need. Staring into his blue eyes, she waited, wondering why he had stopped her, but then, as quickly as it happened, it faded, and he let her go. She was more than happy to leave.

Drew came out of the bathroom looking normal. His face showed no signs of bruising or damage. It looked just like a nosebleed, their pesky wolf genes fixing their injuries. It was why they had to be careful.

How had Drew gotten a broken nose?

****

Landon stared out across the lake, watching as Alexa taught Cindy how to swim. He’d been there that day, horrified as Cheryl lost it with her sister. He’d seen Alexa get in the lake and lift Cindy into her arms.

Cindy wasn’t a small child, but his father had also warned him of what was happening to Alexa.

Her strength. Her abilities were growing.

With some wolves, it happened.

Her hearing was impeccable. Sneaking up on her was difficult. She had to be distracted for him to catch a glimpse of her, like now.

She was so focused on her student, she didn’t know he was there, watching her.

“There you go. You’re doing so well,” Alexa said.

“Don’t let go.”